Laura and Jon Celebrated their Beautiful, Rustic, Autumnal Wedding at Avalen Farm, a True Cornish gem.
For me, this was a wedding with a bit of a difference! And so, this is perhaps a blog post with a bit of a difference too. Rather than the usual break down and run through of Laura and Jon’s day, I am going to go off-piste a little. Talk about things that I realised throughout the day and thought processes I went through in the hope that it may give you some food for thought when planning your day or even when considering me to be your wedding photographer.
I have known Laura for literally as long as I can remember; she is practically part of our family, an honorary ‘Pickup’! Her and Jon also seem to have been together forever and the fact that they were to be getting married was exciting enough, let alone the fact that they then asked me to photograph their wedding for them! There was one condition though, they stated, that I was to be a guest as well as their photographer. At the time I laughed and agreed but leading up to the day, I felt a huge mixture of nerves as I found myself over thinking, as I do best, as to how I was going to remain focused and professional and at the same time, enjoy one of my longest friend’s big day?!
One thing was for certain, I would be spending more time with Laura on her wedding day as her photographer than had I been just a guest, and that for me was a win already!
I met up with Laura and Jon a couple of weeks prior to their wedding at Avalen Farm for a viewing, to meet the coordinating team and to talk through their plans for the day. I think I may have even muttered the words “Wow,” to myself as I got out of the car. This place is just my cup of tea, everything about it from the stonework that the buildings are made out of, to the views across the garden and orchard of Helman Tor along with the well kept but wild flower beds and gravel paths. It got even better as I rounded the corner and came into sight of The Big Barn with its wooden clad walls and sky high glass windows reflecting the blue and white sky. As I was given the grand tour and I listened to Meg explain the Farm’s origins and how they became to be a wedding venue, I loved this venue more and more. The word Avalen is a Cornish word meaning ‘apple tree’. I love a bit of Cornish language and although my dialect is somewhat limited, I have a few key words that pop up from time to time and was chuffed to add another to my repertoire! What made this even better was that true to it’s name sake, Avalen gifts an apple tree to each and every couple married at the Farm and they get to plant it in the orchard as a lasting memory of their day as well as helping to create a sustainable business and give something back to our wonderful world! Just lush!
Unlike the day of my visit to Avalen, the day arrived and it was grey, wet and actually quite miserable. I feel like 2023 was the year to get used to this grey sky, little bit of mizzle weather. It was there more often than not on my 29 weddings last year and Laura and Jon were the perfect example of how to just embrace this! It is so far out and beyond your control, it is what it is. When a couple tell me that they don’t mind a little drizzle of rain, or they believe me that the wind and stormy skies will actually make some cool shots; that’s what excites me and I know I have found the perfect couple for me to photograph! Don’t get me wrong, I bring brollies with me to help keep you covered, I will carry blankets to keep you warm in between shots on a cold or blustery day, but a little adventure and braving the elements will always pay off when it comes to your wedding photos!
I soon got into the swing of things photographing all the prep and the details around the different buildings and areas and before long, I found myself thinking that actually, photographing a friend’s wedding doesn’t feel an awful lot different to any of the other weddings I photograph. I invest so much time into trying to get to know all of my couples through zoom calls, coffee dates, WhatsApp messages on top of the formal emails. My aim is for you, the people I am photographing, to feel as though you know me and that you are comfortable in my presence. That way, I get the very best of you and your guests as they see me as one of you and not just the lady in the shadows with the cameras! It also makes my heart sing when I hear from my previous couples, whether that is a comment or a like on one of my socials or a WhatsApp or an email checking in to say ‘Hi’!